The history of LDS Restorationism

From succession to a worldwide movement

This essay follows the development of the Latter Day Saint movement after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. It distinguishes the largest institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from other Restorationist communities that emerged through disagreements over leadership, doctrine, marriage and church governance.

Relocation and the Nauvoo period

Following conflict in Missouri, members of the early church moved to Commerce, Illinois, which Joseph Smith renamed Nauvoo. During this period the community developed religious, civic and political institutions while facing opposition from surrounding communities and state authorities.

Plural marriage was introduced within the movement during the Nauvoo period. It was described using several theological names and was practiced unevenly. The subject later became central to disputes both within the movement and between the church and the United States government.

In 1844, criticism of Nauvoo’s political power and of plural marriage contributed to a severe local crisis. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested and were killed by a mob while in custody. Their deaths left the church without an uncontested successor.

Competing succession claims

Several leadership paths appeared after Smith’s death. Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles led most members toward the Great Basin. Joseph Smith III and Emma Smith became associated with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ. Other communities, including Bickertonite and Strangite branches, formed separate lines of succession.

These groups shared portions of an early Restorationist heritage but developed different structures, teachings and relationships with wider society. The history of the movement is therefore better understood as a family of related communities than as a single uninterrupted institution.

Migration and institutional consolidation

In 1846, Brigham Young led most of his followers westward to the Great Salt Lake Valley. The settlement that developed around Salt Lake City became the administrative center of the largest Latter-day Saint body. The migration took place amid continuing hostility, economic hardship and tension with the federal government.

The church adopted its present official name in 1851. During the following decades, disputes over territorial authority, federal law and plural marriage shaped relations between Utah and the United States. The history of polygyny is closely connected to these legal and political conflicts.

The Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 remains one of the most painful episodes associated with the period. A traveling emigrant party was attacked in southern Utah, and the event led to deaths and a prolonged historical debate about responsibility, local participation and institutional accountability. A separate overview is available in the account of Mountain Meadows.

Ending official plural marriage

Federal legislation and enforcement measures in the late nineteenth century placed increasing pressure on the Utah church. In 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto that suspended the authorization of new plural marriages. Some unauthorized plural unions continued for a period, while smaller groups separated from the main church because they wished to preserve the practice.

Utah achieved statehood in 1896. Over time, the largest LDS institution treated plural marriage as grounds for disciplinary action, while some independent fundamentalist communities continued to organize around it. These communities should not be treated as interchangeable with the mainstream church.

Race, gender and public policy

For much of the twentieth century, the largest LDS church restricted Black men from priesthood ordination and limited participation through a racial policy that is now rejected by the church. A 1978 announcement ended the priesthood restriction. The history and later interpretations of that change are discussed in the separate essay on race and the LDS movement.

The church has also taken public positions on gender roles, family policy and same-sex marriage. Its political involvement has changed over time, and members have held a range of views. The movement’s relationship to marriage equality is covered in the essays on LDS views and same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in the United States. That legal development forms part of the broader context for understanding later debates between religious liberty claims and equal-treatment principles.

Why the history matters

The LDS Restorationist story illustrates how religious movements adapt after leadership transitions, migration, legal pressure and internal disagreement. It also shows why historical labels require care: one origin story can produce institutions with distinct doctrines, identities and relationships to the wider public.

For related reading, see the LDS Restorationism menu, Christianity and religious change.